Mater Dei lawsuit seems frivolous, but it could be so much fun

Monday was supposed to be the day for a hearing in Orange County Superior Court matching lawyers for the CIF Southern Section against their counterparts representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange on behalf of its client, Santa Ana Mater Dei High. I was hoping Mater Dei grads Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley could make an appearance to add to the spectacle.

The honorable Judge Gregory H. Lewis was scheduled to preside. I doubt he’s a Servite grad, so that’s good for Mater Dei.

The hearing, however, was postponed because the lawyers are reviewing amendments filed last week (probably at $150 an hour). The Southern Section is trying to have the lawsuit dismissed. Mater Dei feels its athletes have been receiving “unfair treatment” from the Southern Section because of “biased application of CIF rules and regulations pertaining to Mater Dei’s sports programs.”

In other words, Mater Dei is fed up that the Southern Section keeps asking questions about whether top transfer students should be eligible. Geez, wouldn’t every school like the Southern Section to rubber stamp a transfer student?

But Mater Dei’s latest filing adds one intriguing element to the drama: The lawyers are challenging the legitimacy of a 2009 bylaw that allows section commissioners to declare a student ineligible for an “athletically motivated” transfer. That alone is going to pique the interest of schools, coaches and parents because the lawyers are calling the rule “unreasonably broad and undefined authority to determine the athletic eligibility of transferring students.”

That’s about the only argument that merits going to court over. The rest of the name calling in the document, such as saying that the Southern Section “consistently, intentionally and systemically has engaged in arbitrary and discriminatory actions against Mater Dei by issuing and enforcing unsupported and erroneous findings and rulings,” is pure hogwash.

It’s too bad witnesses aren’t being called, because the Southern Section could summon an endless line of coaches, athletes and fans who would eagerly testify under oath that they believe that the Southern Section has shown a biased application of its rules in favor of Mater Dei.

Still, I was looking forward to the hearing so I could really understand why Mater Dei and the diocese are wasting time and money with a frivolous suit.

Are they seeking to be exempt from the rules and regulations the Southern Section is entrusted with upholding?

The commissioner, Jim Staunton, is retiring, so Mater Dei might be better off being nice and respectful, and wait to see how the next commissioner handles matters.

The Southern Section believes the lawsuit is designed to “threaten the section or otherwise unduly influence its decisions.”

Let me translate: The Southern Section thinks Mater Dei is making a preemptive strike to prevent any action against its yearly arrival of basketball transfers.

So now we’re waiting for a judge to decide whether the Southern Section is biased against Mater Dei.

I’m rooting for a jury trial. That means both sides will get to depose lots of coaches and ex-athletes to determine bias. Subpoenas will be issued. Old rumors will resurface. Both sides will have to tell the truth in open court. We’ll get to find out the dirty details of the Southern Section and Mater Dei.

Mater Dei is a terrific school academically and athletically. I always wonder why any top athlete in Orange County wouldn’t want to attend the school.

But everyone seems uptight these days. When I covered Mater Dei’s football playoff game against Long Beach Poly, one of the school’s many security guards tried to bar me from interviewing a player after the game. Then, I asked linebacker Joseph Schmidt for an interview and he wouldn’t talk until he had an assistant coach listen in.

What’s with the bunker mentality?

Two of my favorite athletes were Mater Dei students — baseball player Cory Hahn and pole vaulter Michael Woepse. They loved being in the spotlight and welcomed questions and scrutiny.

“We hope for a just and expedient resolution to this matter,” diocese spokesman Ryan Lilyengren said.

I hope for an expedient return to writing about high school sports.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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